Court nod sufficient to probe 'corrupt' officials: CBI

New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS) The CBI Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it did not require the government's sanction for a corruption probe against public servants in court-monitored cases but the government disagreed with this.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told an apex court bench of Justice R.M. Lodha, Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph it would file an application seeking its go-ahead to begin investigating an officer suspected of wrongdoing in the allocation of coal blocks.

Senior counsel Amarendra Saran, appearing for the CBI, sought to keep the government away from the process of giving sanction for investigating public servants facing corruption allegations but Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati said the court could seek the stand of government on such a plea.

Saran's suggestion came in the course of the hearing on pleas related to the coal blocks allocation matter.

Appearing for Centre for Public Interest Litigation, counsel Prashant Bhushan told the court that since the CBI worked under the supervision of the Central Vigilance Commission there was no need for it to take sanction from the government.

The court would next hear the case Aug 29. It court asked the CBI to file three status reports on coal blocks allocation by Aug 27.

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